but according to the department of defense, that's only a tiny representation of the real number. which is closer to 19,000. because many victims don't come forward afraid their careers might suffer and knowing how hard it is to get justice. >> we have a moral duty. >> reporter: secretary of defense leon panetta says since taking over last year, he's made this issue a top priority. starting with better prosecution of those who commit these crimes. >> and what do you think of the prosecution rates? just last year only 240 cases were prosecuted of the more than 3,000 or so that were actually reported. >> yeah, it's an outrage that we aren't prosecuting. >> are rapists getting away with rape? >> look, these are tough cases, let's understand. as a lawyer, i look and know how tough these cases are sometimes. but, the fact is we can do this. we need to improve the investigations. and we need to ensure that we have prosecutors who are willing to bring these cases to court and make sure that these people don't get away. >> reporter: but that resolve is being tested right now with the late